Battery.



' in a dry battery,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

application filed December 18, 1911. Seria'. No. 666,422.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALVA E. THOMPSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hastings, in the county of Las Animas and State of Colorado, have invented new and useful Improvements in Batteries, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to batteries, and more particularly to battery jars, the special object of my improvement being to rovide a battery havinga jar adapted for olding grids or their equivalent in such manner that the lugs or ears of the grids extend through slots and rest upon reinforced portions par-.

tially bounding said slots, and so disposed as to give the jar great strength where it might otherwise be weakened by virtue of said slots and of the engagement 01" the metallic parts against the bottoms'of said slots. In this connection it may be stated that my battery jar is suitable for. use as part of a storage battery, though in some it for holding the elements of a dry battery.=

It has been found in practice that where grids are employedin a storage battery, or members analogous to grids have been used or lugs of the grids or analogous members should be caused to protrude out through slots in the wall of the battery jar or cell,

and that. if this be done the lugs or cars may be caused to last much longer owing to the fact that they are not exposed to corrosion, and hence are better protected. This arrangement also enables the ears or lugs to be so located as to be readily available and easily accessible at all times.

The use of battery jars or cells provided with slots for the purpose just indicated,

with some difficulty, esof storage batteries in which the 'leaden grids employed, and the active matelial used in connection with such grids, are very heavy. Owing to the heavy weight of the grids and to the fact that the lugs of the grids extend through the slots, and, therefore, into engagement with the wall of the battery-jar, the likelihood of breakage of the jar is greatly increased. .It .istrue that in :many instances provision is it is desirable that the ears 1 in whic made for supporting the grids without restmg all, or even a considerable proportion, of their weight upon the even in such cases a sudden movement given to the battery, as, for Instance in setting it down abruptly, is liable to throw excessive mechanical strain upon the battery cell at points located adjacent to the slots, and the breakage of the jar is likely to result. Again, it should be noted that battery grids are very expensive as compared with the cost of jars, and that frequently several grids are mounted in the same jar. "This being the case and the storage batterybeing in many instances portable, and the breakage of a jar being likelyto injure the grids and practically certain to spill the battery fluid, it becomes highlyessential to avoid the undue chances for breaking the jar. Of course, the breaking of a jar does not necessarily imply the in uryof a grid carried by it, but experience shows'that when ajar is.

broken there .is some likelihood at least for one or more expensive grids to be damaged.

With the foregoing considerations in mind I have produced a battery the jar of which, while provided with slots for receiving the lugs of grids or the like, is so reinforced at points immediately adjacent to said slots and bounding'said slots that the likelihood of a jarto become brokenvby. virtue of the weightofthe grids or by such weight taken in connection with a sudden motion given to or an abrupt stoppage of tery considered as a portable affair, is've greatly reduced. In eifectI give the battery jar such form that the bottom. boundaries of the slots coincide with the upper surface of a thickened portionof the battery, wall so formed as to act somewhat after the manner of a supporting rail, it being integral with: other portions of the-wall of the jar. r

efer'ence is made drawing forming a part of this specification,

like letters indicate like parts. Figure 1 is a vertical section throughmy improved battery complete. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. 7

The ar is shown at 3, and is in t s-1nmotion ofthe bat stance provided internally 'at'its bottom with ribs 4 integral with the bottom of the 45 4 where it would otherwise be most weakened.

jar and extending crosswise thereof. -ilhe battery fluid is shown at 5, and may be either a diluted solution or a paste according to circumstances. The battery jar 3 provided adjacent to its upper edge with a portion 6 integral with it, this portion being of greater distance, measured across either externally or internally, than that of' the' body portion below it.

' 9, 10, provided with lugs 11, 12, these lugs in part upon the ribs sosthat a part 40. 1 the-bottoms of these slots.

- reinforces the latter, not only at the bottoms several respective slots. I F

= ened portion 14,

extending, respectively, through the slots 7, 8. A pair of endless bands 13, of ordinary soft rubber, are stretched around the for the purpose of holding them in position, and they are also spaced apart in the usual or' any desired manner. The two ids shown are held together asa couple an rest The batteryj-aris provided with a thickbetween the portion 3 or body proper, of the jar. and the'portion 6 thereof." The thickened portion-.14 is in this instance integral with the other portions of the jar, and;has. a vthickness equal to-the combined thicknesssof the portions 3 and 6,

as willbe understoodfrom Fig; 1. This thickenedportion 14;

bottoms engage "its upper surface directly, of the weight of the grids rests upon the thickened-"portion 14'. The slots 7 '8, being in have necessarily a tendencyto weaken-the jar, especially at points located adjacentto The increased thickness of the portion 14, however, offsets this tendency toward weakness due to the, presence of the slots, and reinforces the jar in a general way at the p'articular'points Indeed the bottom boundary of each slot 7 v 8, is simply; the top surface of the thickened portion, and'as this thickened portionextends continuously across the battery jar it of the slots but also at points located upon each side of each individual slot. The thickened portion thus acts to some extentas a supporting rail for reinforcing the jar clear across 'andat the same time serves more spe- 'cifically for the purpose of enabling the lugs or ears of the grids to make contactdirectly with large abutting surfaces constituting, fragmentarily the lower boundaries offthe After the grids are'mounted as above described, a filling 15 of-pitch or thickened tar may be. added. a This filling "w h n virtue of the fact'that the internal distance the portions 14 but not quite equal to grids acts in a measure "as a supporting rail and the lugs 12 at their the nature of mutilations,

massive 531d, wal

having a may bemerely poured into the top of the jar and is suffici en tly plastic to How around the lugs and a into all available space adjacent thereto the jar so as to make a neat fit.- By

across theportion 6 of the jar is greater than that across the lower portion of the jar,

present, internally ofthe jar, supporting ledges or shoulders, and'its the filling by virtueof its plasticity or fluidity acquires a shape for matin these surfaces, the filling is ve by the battery jar an fit of the filling relatively to the lugs carried by the grids. In other words,'thefilling during its formation acquires such a shape that it would rest automatically. in position within the top of the jar even if no grids were present. The grids being in position, however, and the filling being formed around the lugs carried by them, so that these lugs. are for parts of their length embedded securely within the filling, the grids are effectively braced and strength ened by'the filling, and are thus prevented from moving relatively to the jar in '.case the position oflthe jar is abruptly'shifted. In thus preventing relative movement as between the grids and the jar, the filling serves the purpose of strengthening the jar 'as well asp'erforming the usual oflice of a filling:'

.Y.I do not limitmyself to the precise construction shown as, within reasonable limits it may be varied for different purposes, the

scope of my invention being commensurate with my claims. a

I claim 3- .1. A battery jar comprising a containing vessel provided with a wall and with a massive portion thicker than said wall, said massive portion being integral with said wall and forming a continuation thereof, said containing vessel being further provided with a portion displaced relatiively to the eneral plane of said wall, said last mentioned portion having slots extending from its outer edge to the adjacent surface of'said massive portion.' t

- 2. A battery jar comprising a containing member provided with a wall and with a portion forming a continuation of taining member being further provided with a portion extending from said massive portion and out of alinement relatively to .said

-wall, said portion being provided with-slots extending flush with the" adjacent surface of said supporting portion. a I

3. The combination with a batteryijar wall provided with a thickened portion and further provided with a.;portion extending from said thickened portion and efiiectiv'el y supported independently'of the and. integral therewith, said con- -veloping saidlugs.

having slotsextendil lg flush with said thiCk- In testimony whreof I have hrem'lto set ened portion, of battery element-s located my hand in presence of two subscribing within said containing member and prowitnesses. vided with lugs extending through said Y ALVA; E. THOMPSON. 5 .slots, and a filling resting in part upon said Witnesses:

supporting p0rt-i0n,l said filling partmlly en- -'-'-J.' W.- CUSIBL' 4 SAM TRossARELLo. 

